The Seed Corn
Source: Dev.to
Episode II
The first episode discussed the thinkers; this episode focuses on the doers. This is not an argument against automation or AI. It is an argument against mistaking acceleration for succession.
The doers
- Execute → Build → Operate
- As they work, they accumulate tacit/tribal knowledge
- Earn battle scars, and more importantly, judgment
Over time, some transition to become “The Thinkers”. The doers are thinkers in incubation. In other words, you don’t grow thinkers by hiring them.
Automation and the doer layer
Automation attacks the doer layer first—not because doers lack value, but because their work is:
- Observable
- Repeatable
- Specifiable
The immediate gain looks rational: cheaper, faster, scalable. But the unseen loss is this: you are not just removing labour… that is the seed corn.
AI and judgment
AI is absolutely needed. The missing point is this: if AI is to automate the work that once trained our future thinkers, then we must deliberately invent new paths for judgment to form.